Gurnam Singh

For the Indonesian athlete, see Gurnam Singh (athlete).
Gurnam Singh
6th Chief Minister of Punjab
In office
March, 1967 – November, 1967
Preceded by Giani Gurmukh Singh Mussafir
Succeeded by Lachhman Singh Gill
In office
February 1969 – March 1970
Preceded by President's rule
Succeeded by Parkash Singh Badal
Personal details
Born (1899-02-25)25 February 1899
Narangwal, Punjab, British India
Died 31 May 1973(1973-05-31) (aged 74)
Delhi
Nationality Indian
Political party Shiromani Akali Dal
Profession Politician
Religion Sikh

Gurnam Singh (25 February 1899 – 31 May 1973 in Delhi) was an Indian politician and the Chief Minister of Punjab from March 8, 1967 to November 25, 1967, and again between February 17, 1969 to March 27, 1970.[1] He was the first Shiromani Akali Dal Chief minister of Punjab.[2] His ministry fell due to defection of Lachhman Singh Gill, who became the next Chief Minister with the support of the Indian National Congress. He died in an air crash in Delhi on 31 May 1973.

Early life

Singh was born in Narangwal, Ludhiana on 25 February 1899 in a Grewal family.[3][4] He graduated from the Forman Christian College, Lahore.[5] He captained the hockey team of Punjab University.[6]

Law career

Singh practiced Law in Lyallpur (Present day Faisalabad, Pakistan). Later he served as the president of the Bar Association, there. During the partition of Punjab, Singh moved to Punjab, India. He was made the judge of the PEPSU and Punjab High Courts in 1950. He retired from this post in 1959.[7][5]

Political career

In 1959, he joined Shiromani Akali Dal. In 1962, he became the member of Punjab Vidhan Sabha from Raikot. He defeated congress candidate Inder Mohan Singh.[8] Akali Dal president Sant Fateh Singh made Gurnam Singh the head of the legislative wing of the party. He served as the leader of opposition in Punjab Vidhan Sabha from 1962 to 1967. In 1967, he won from Qila Raipur constituency, which he defended in 1969 too.[9][10] In 1967 he became the first non-Congress Chief Minister of Punjab of Punjab. He led a coalition government of Akali Dal, Jana Sangh and communists. However, his government could not complete the full term. He again became chief minister in 1969. Later he served as High Commissioner of India in Canberra, Australia.[11][6]

Death

Singh died in an air crash in Delhi on 31 May 1973.[12]

References

  1. ↑ http://punjabassembly.nic.in/members/showcm.asp
  2. ↑ "Akali CMs". Retrieved 10 June 2014.
  3. ↑ Grewal, Dr Dalvinder Singh. "ORIGIN OF GREWALS". Retrieved 10 June 2014.
  4. ↑ "While Badal shines, other ex-CMs' villages remain its poor cousins". The Tribune. January 21, 2014. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
  5. 1 2 "Gurnam Singh's birth anniversary to be celebrated". The Tribune. February 11, 1999. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
  6. 1 2 Dhanoa, S. S. (February 27, 1999). "The multi-faceted personality of Gurnam Singh". The Tribune. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
  7. ↑ "Hon'ble Former Judges". Punjab & Haryana High Court, Chandigarh. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
  8. ↑ "STATISTICAL REPORT ON GENERAL ELECTION, 1962 TO THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF PUNJAB" (PDF). Election Commission of India. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
  9. ↑ "STATISTICAL REPORT ON GENERAL ELECTION, 1967 TO THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF PUNJAB" (PDF). ECI. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
  10. ↑ "STATISTICAL REPORT ON GENERAL ELECTION, 1969 TO THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF PUNJAB" (PDF). ECI. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
  11. ↑ "A gentleman-politician". The Tribune. March 4, 2001. Retrieved 10 June 2014.
  12. ↑ "Proceedings, Meghalaya Legislative Assembly". Megassembly.gov.in. Retrieved 2013-11-10.
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